Flights of fancy don’t come cheap

Would-be airline pilots need deep pockets if they want to be cleared for take-off in their chosen career so is the cost and strain of pilot training worth it?

Trainee pilots can expect to pay up to €100,000 before they join a commercial airline
Trust Michael O’Leary, the Ryanair chief executive, to spoil the glamour of it
all by suggesting dropping co-pilots from the cockpit and putting them to
use serving tea instead.

The new threat to the pilot’s image is not, though, the main issue that could
clip the wings of those dreaming of a life in the skies.

Traditionally, large airlines paid for pilot training. Now people with an eye
on the cockpit must pay for their own training, and it is expensive, costing
from €70,000 to €100,000. The expense is the greatest obstacle, but even
those who can pay will find jobs are thin on the ground, or rather in the
air.

“Somebody who thinks they are going to do a course, get a job, do well and
repay the money quickly should know that simply is not the way any more,”
said Captain Michael McLaughlin of the Irish Air Line